The primary goal of this COBRE proposal is to increase the number of active, NIH-funded biomedical researchers in the State of Delaware. This will be accomplished through the efforts of a multidisciplinary group of investigators at the Nemours Research Institute/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, to study pediatric diseases, therapy and prevention. The Nemours Research Institute is located on the grounds of the Alfred I. duPont Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, where a close relationship is maintained between the two facilities. The new research center, The Center for Pediatric Research (CPR), will focus on three aims: 1) To develop a Center that will support basic and applied research on pediatric disorders by providing the infrastructure to train basic and physician scientists (target investigators) in their quest to become independent investigators who can successfully procure outside funding for their research programs. The CPR will foster the development of these junior scientists by providing the money, resources and core lab services for the projects; 2) To develop an integrated mentoring program to enrich the training of the target investigators. Established investigators with proven histories in scientific research and grant acquisition will provide scientific and academic direction to the target investigators, thus fostering the advancement of this core group of scientists to build a stronger research program, ensuring the long-term expansion of biomedical research in Delaware; and 3) To develop a translational research program within the CPR that enriches the interface between clinical and basic research by developing clinically relevant systems for basic research as well as scientifically sound approaches to clinical research. We will recruit investigators with experience in clinical and applied basic research to form a multidisciplinary research group studying pediatric diseases, providing additional research programs and infrastructure for the long-term development of an NIH-funded Translational CPR at the Nemours Research Institute. The COBRE program proposed herein wilt have two long-term benefits: 1) the number of NIH-competitive researchers in Delaware will increase; 2) the CPR will be poised to apply for a other Center grants which are few in Delaware.